Darkness in Zero
by Sparanda
Summary: Following the events at Castle Oblivion, King Mickey decides to take Riku on as his apprentice in order to train him with the Keyblade and to keep Ansem's darkness at bay while Sora sleeps. AU /Abandoned/
1. The Road to Dawn

Greetings, friends. Welcome to the wondrous world of my most recent fanfiction. This one will focus on Riku and King Mickey and their time after the events at Castle Oblivion. I don't think there will be any pairings. If there are, they will be a very minor part of the plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Disney, Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts characters.

* * *

A young boy walked forward confidently, heading for the horizon, over which the sun was beginning to break. He wore a long black coat with a hood which he kept down. His shoulder-length silver hair swayed lightly in the wind as he stared at the approaching morning.

"It's the road to dawn," Riku said as he turned back to face DiƵ and the King. He smiled at his friend, the mouse. "And it's our path, right Your Majesty?"

"Of course, Riku!" the small king exclaimed. "I told ya' I wanted ta' walk the path of light and dark with you and intend to do just that." King Mickey walked calmly past DiƵ and took his place by Riku.

"Very well then," DiƵ conceded. "I will monitor the progress of Sora and Naminé while you take the 'way to dawn.'" Riku and the King nodded. "And Riku…" The boy stopped in midstep to look back at the mysterious bandaged man. "I believe I may have need of your services in the foreseeable future. If you will agree, I will contact King Mickey to give you the message if the circumstances require."

Riku nodded one last time before turning with the King towards the rising sun.

* * *

_There is always sleep between part and meet_

_with our usual words on the usual street._

* * *

"Your Majesty, what happened to this place?"

They were walking along a cliff that overlooked a deserted village. Riku could see a few of the houses had been blown apart from the inside. Others looked like walls have been torn off with brute strength.

"I'm not sure, but this village was once very prosperous," the King replied as they continued walking. "It was attacked by Heartless, most likely. They came through and just destroyed everything. Probably took the peoples' hearts, too."

"That's awful," Riku grimaced. "I can't believe I ever allowed myself to be used by Ansem. That his minions could do something this evil to what was probably a very peaceful village… it sickens me."

"That's why he had to be stopped. And don't worry about letting yourself be used, Riku. He tricked ya'! He lured you in with promises of power, just like Maleficent did."

"But if I hadn't been so weak in the first place," Riku countered, "I wouldn't have fallen for the bait!"

"Riku, you were never weak," the King reassured him softly. "You and Sora hold the most powerful weapon of all." Riku glanced at his hand, thinking of his weapon, _Soul Eater_. "No, I'm not talkin' about a physical weapon. I mean your hearts!" Riku looked up at the King in surprise to find him grinning. "You had enough strength in your heart to defeat Ansem back in Castle Oblivion. What makes ya' think you won't have enough power to hold his power back?"

Riku smiled and nodded. "You're right," he said firmly. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

They continued on for a while in silence. It had been nearly two hours since they'd passed the demolished village when Riku spoke again.

"Your Majesty, when you said you wanted to walk the road with me, did you mean you were going to use the power of darkness as well?"

The King shook his head, causing his large ears to flop back-and-forth as he walked beside Riku. "Nope, but I want to help train you."

Riku nearly tripped over air, but regained his footing in time to prevent an embarrassing faceplant. "You're going to train me, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"Yep," the mouse replied, "but only if you stop calling me that. I told you, we're pals now, Riku!" Mickey shot Riku another big grin.

"Thank you… Mickey."

With a small nod and a small the duo continued on their journey.

"If you don't mind my asking, Mickey," Riku continued, "where are we going to be training?"

Mickey just shook his head again. "I haven't decided yet. There's lots o' places where the enemy could surprise or ambush us without warning."

"So where are we going now?"

"We're goin' to see my old master," Mickey replied proudly. "He lives near the outskirts of Twilight Town. He should know of a good place for us to train away from any Heartless."

Riku nodded and thought for a moment. "Wasn't Twilight Town one of the worlds inside the castle?" he asked, remembering the card world.

"Yep, but I'm not sure why. Twilight Town is the only world that we visited that neither you or Sora had ever been to before. I don't know why they included it."

"Maybe it has something to do with that replica of me that Vexen made?" Riku suggested. The replica had been almost exactly like him, except it entirely embraced the power of darkness.

"I don't think so," Mickey answered. "I think it has more to do with Sora and Naminé."

"What do you mean?"

"Welp, I'm not sure about this either." The King stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest to think as Riku stopped next to him. "It's just a feeling I got when we met Naminé; I could tell she had a very strong connection to Sora." He looked up at Riku curiously. "And to you," he added.

"A dark connection?" Riku asked hesitantly.

"No, I couldn't sense any darkness in her at all," Mickey replied as they resumed walking.

"I thought every heart had darkness?"

"In most cases, yes. Even Sora and I have darkness inside of us. We choose not to follow it, though, and use the power of light instead. You use both light and darkness to fight, giving you an advantage. But this girl had no darkness whatsoever, and I've only ever heard of one other person like that."

"Who was that, Mickey?" Riku wondered aloud.

"Gosh, I can't seem to remember," the King replied dejectedly. "But that's okay. We're almost to where my Gummi Ship is."

"'Gummi Ship?'" Riku echoed.

"Yep! It lets me travel all over the place between worlds and -!" Mickey stopped walking and slapped his forehead, causing Riku to stop as well. "Oh no!"

"What?" Riku asked worriedly. "What is it?"

"When Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeated Ansem and sealed Kingdom Hearts, all the worlds became separated and disconnected. The Gummi Ship won't work."

"So how do we get to Twilight Town?"

"I'm not sure myself."

"Hmm…" Riku brought a hand up to his chin and closed his eyes so he could think.

* * *

_So let us part like we always do…_

_And in a perfect world_

_I'll dream of you._

* * *

A bright light filled Riku's other hand, forcing him to open his eyes. When the light subsided, both he and King Mickey were shocked to find a new Keyblade resting comfortably in his grip. Riku quickly moved his eyes to inspect his new weapon even though he had no idea where it had come from.

The first thing he noticed was that the handguard had been crafted from two wings encircled around the handle; one wing was black and the other white. He then inspcted the hilt of the weapon and found it looked like a dragon's head and the blade its wing. Near the tip of the blade, he noticed, an angel's wing protruded from the blunt side. Finally, he saw with a slight twinge of disdain that the keychain attached under the handle was the shape of the Heartless symbol.

"I guess my old weapon was only suited for darkness," Riku muttered. "Just as well since it was the blade Ansem gave me."

"What are you gonna name it?" the King asked. Riku just shook his head and pointed the tip of the blade forward.

"It already has a name," he explained as a bright light shot forth from the tip. It stopped and expanded into a doorway of light. Through the doorway was a very familiar town with a very visible sunset.

"_Way to the Dawn_."

* * *

_When I come to, let us meet_

_with our usual words on the usual street._

* * *

A/N: That's the end of Chapter 1/Prologue. Whatever you want to think of it.

The poem-like interludes are from the ending of KH Re: Chain of Memories (Sora's version). They actually fit in pretty well with those so I decided to use them. I may use the poem lines again and the lines from the poem at the end of Riku's game as well later on.

Big thanks to Mabinogi Fan from GameFAQs for writing the game script for Re: Chain of Memories. I don't know how much I'll be working on this, but this idea has been gnawing away at me for at least a month now so I might get a few more chapters done in the next few weeks.

Hope you enjoy it!


	2. Now We're Thinking with Portals

I shouldn't be writing right now. I should be working on a paper for my history class. But this won't take too long. I'll be honest: the first part of this was written during church this morning. I run the sound system so I'm upstairs where no one can see me and I was bored so I started writing. Don't know when I'll finish this, but at least I've started.

For the purposes of this fic, I'm assuming the replica of Twilight Town inside Castle Oblivion looked exactly like the real Twilight Town and not just some randomly thrown-together rooms.

Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts. I own the game, just not the franchise or licensing rights or any of that unimportant stuff.

* * *

"Where is this, Mickey?" Riku asked.

"This is Twilight Town," the mouse replied. "It should look familiar to you."

"Yeah, I recognize it now." Riku looked around where he and King Mickey had come out from the portal. It was a fairly open space with what looked like a track running through the entire area. A tram car rolled by loudly, giving Riku the sensation of being in the middle of a small earthquake. "This must be the Tram Common."

"We can get to Master Yen Sid's place by the train at Central Station," Mickey explained. "Let's go!"

Riku nodded and followed as the King began running towards the other end of the Tram Common where he could see a road leading uphill to where the station was. Entering through an archway, the two Keyblade masters continued through Market Street.

"Hang on, Mickey," Riku said suddenly. The mouse king stopped and looked back at his friend. "See those kids back there?" Riku asked.

Mickey walked back to the opening of the alleyway where Riku had stopped. Looking down the alleyway, King Mickey could see three teenagers standing together, talking and laughing. There were two boys and a single girl.

Mickey, realizing the significance, looked up at Riku with a solemn expression. "I hope Kairi's alright," Riku whispered.

"I'm sure she's fine," Mickey assured. "If there was a problem with one o' the Princesses of Heart, we would know."

"Yeah, you're right." Riku looked back up and noticed the kids running up the alley right towards them.

"C'mon Riku, let's keep movin'," Mickey said. Riku nodded again as the continued up the street. He spared a glance back at the alleyway as the three teenagers emerged.

Neither of the guys seemed to have noticed him, but Riku jumped when his eyes met the girl's. She smiled at him, and Riku smiled back before continuing into the station plaza.

_'She must think I'm just another teenager like her,'_ Riku mused as he followed Mickey into the station. _'Sometimes I wish we had never been caught up in this mess, but I know there's no use dwelling on it all now.'_

Riku stopped at the teller's window, but Mickey kept walking up the steps. The man from the window had run out from his room; he ran past Riku and up the stairs after the King. Riku followed up as well. He stopped next to the teller, whose mouth was hanging open in shock.

Riku couldn't blame him.

Sitting on the track was the strangest-looking train car Riku had ever seen. It was purple all over and covered in yellow and gold stars. In what seemed like the final touch of weirdness, there was a sorcerer's hat set atop the front of the train car in the same color and pattern as the rest of the car.

Mickey turned around and noticed the teller standing there wide-eyed and mouth open. "I don't believe we'll need munny or tickets for this train," he said awkwardly. The teller just nodded and stalked back to his window with a blank expression.

"So this train will get us to your master's?" Riku asked once the teller had gone.

"Yep. It should drop us off right in front of his tower."

The King and Riku boarded the train. Mickey pulled himself up onto the seat as the train began moving, but Riku leaned back against the door. As the train pulled out from the station, sunlight poured through the windows in radiant shades of yellow and orange.

"What's your master like, Mickey?" Riku asked. The ride was slightly boring.

"He's kinda difficult to describe, really," Mickey replied. "He's really powerful, but he hardly ever uses his power except when others need him."

"Strong but silent?" Riku guessed.

"I guess you could say that."

"I've met that kind before," Riku said, thinking of Lexaeus, a member of the Organization he had fought in Castle Oblivion.

The ride continued in silence for a while. Riku jumped when a blinding flash of light appeared ahead of the train. He couldn't see what it was, but the light enveloped the entire car, forcing both passengers to shut their eyes as it passed. It wasn't until the light had passed and Riku opened his eyes that he realized they had gone through a portal.

The track they were now on seemed to be hovering over nothing, and they were heading for a floating island just ahead with a tower and some trees and shrubs surrounding it. The train stopped at the island to let them off. Riku stepped out and waited for the King.

"Yen Sid's tower," King Mickey said as he looks up at the turrets of the small tower. "His study will be at the top floor. Let's move." Riku nodded and followed the King up the stairs and into the tower.

They were met with a spiral staircase. Mickey started up the stairs without hesitation, and Riku followed. At the top of the stairs was a wall of swirling energy which Mickey walked right into. _'It's another portal,'_Riku surmised. He walked through the portal and found himself on another set of stairs leading straight up to a door.

He and King Mickey walked through the door and found themselves in a circular room; at the opposite end of the room was another door. Before Riku could even take a step forward, Mickey held his arm out to stop him. "Wait," he warned.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Heartless appeared. There were Soldiers and Shadows there, easily taken care of by the two Keyblade masters. "Let's keep moving upward," Mickey said. "Master Yen Sid should be two floors up from here."

On the other side of the food, they found another spiral staircase. At the top of these stairs was another doorway that led to another circular room. More Heartless appeared here, stronger and more numerous than the last room, but they still posed no threat to either of them. Once more, Riku and King Mickey continued through the doorway; this time they found another straight staircase leading up to the final doorway.

Mickey opened the doorway and entered. When Riku walked in, Mickey was bowing politely to the elderly man sitting behind a wizened old desk. The man had a long, silver-gray beard and a pointed sorcerer's hat exactly like the one on top of the train car. Realizing this was a man that deserved respect, Riku made a polite bow as he stood next to the King.

"Rise now, friends," Yen Sid commanded. His voice wasn't especially deep, but it had a tone to it that made you want to follow his orders; not by a magical spell, but out of reverence.

"Master Yen Sid," Mickey said, relaxing and smiling at the man. "Thank you for welcoming us."

"Of course," Yen Sid replied. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"I have something I need to tell you about, but that can wait," Mickey said, his expression becoming serious again. "My friend and I need a place where we can stay hidden and train for a while."

"I see," the wizened man whispered. His eyes moved from the King to Riku, who felt slightly uneasy under the man's gaze. "You are one of the Three, yes?"

"He is," Mickey replied vaguely. Yen Sid nodded.

"And what of the other?"

"Sora is safe," Mickey explained. "He's with DiƵ. I'm guessing you know who DiƵ really is, too."

"I have my suspicions," Yen Sid said with a smile, "but that is also for another time. I have a suitable place for you. You may use it as long as you wish."

"Thank you, master," Mickey bowed again.

"I request that you rest here for the night," Yen Sid continued. "I know you have faced great perils recently. I will show you to the training ground tomorrow. Though we are near Twilight Town, we will experience nightfall soon. You will find a fully furnished bedroom through there." He nodded towards a door to their right. Riku and Mickey bowed again and left through the doorway into the bedroom.

True to Yen Sid's words, there were two four-poster beds against the left and right walls of a square room as they walked in. Each bed had a small nightstand on the right side of it.

"This room can be whatever Yen Sid makes it," Mickey told Riku. "Last time I was here, this room was a kitchen."

"That's a neat trick," Riku replied.

"I hope you see why he's my master now," Mickey said. "I couldn't dream of doin' somethin' like this. But you can see how simple it is, too. He's not showin' off or anything."

"Yeah," Riku whispered in amazement. "He was right about me being really tired, too. I'm gonna hit the hay. Good night, Mickey."

"Good night, Riku," Mickey said as the boy lay down on his bed. "I'm gonna go speak with Master a little more."

Riku heard King Mickey leave and then his eyes closed and he immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

"Time to get up, deary," a motherly voice said nearby. "Your friend has already gotten up and left. I believe he and Master Yen Sid are waiting for you."

Riku opened his eyes and saw a tiny little... fairy? ...witch? He wasn't sure what to call her, but she was short, had tiny wings on her back, a small wand in her hand, and a blue witch's hat on her head to match her blue dress. She had a kind old face and black hair.

After sitting up in his bed, Riku saw the fairy float over to the bed across the room where King Mickey had slept. While she was fixing the sheets, Riku got up from the bed and noticed he had slept in the black cloak Mickey had given him. Surprisingly, it was comfortable enough to sleep in. _'And Mickey also said it would keep the Organization from finding us,'_Riku remembered.

"Where are Master Yen Sid and The King right now?" Riku asked the little fairy.

"They're meeting in one of the other towers," she answered. "They didn't want to bother you while you were sleeping, dear."

Riku blinked. "Alright then," he mumbled. "Thank you, I think I'll go find them."

The little fairy just nodded as he left the room.

After looking around for a few minutes on the lower floors of the tower, Riku finally found a portal on the second floor. He proceeded through the portal and found himself on another staircase. No Heartless appeared here, but they hadn't appeared in the main tower as he'd passed through either.

At the top of the staircase was a large wooden door; Riku could hear two voices from inside, so he knocked. The two voices suddenly stopped. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing King Mickey holding the door's handle and Yen Sid standing a few feet into the room next to a table. Neither Mickey nor Yen Sid looked particularly happy at the moment.

"Good morning," Riku said awkwardly. Mickey smiled despite the tense atmosphere.

"Mornin', Riku," he said jovially. "Come on in, we were just talkin' about Yen Sid's training spot he set out for us." Riku and the King walked over to the table; the door shut itself.

Looking over the many scraps of paper on the table, Riku could easily recognize the place Yen Sid planned to send them.

"Hollow Bastion?" Riku questioned, looking up at the old wizard.

"The castle has been totally abandoned since Maleficent's demise at the hands of Sora," Yen Sid explained. "And yet, Heartless are drawn to the place because of the lingering Darkness there. I chose this because the same lingering Darkness should shield you from the prying eyes of the Organization."

_'It makes sense,'_Riku admitted grudgingly. "But there has to be some other place we could go," he offered aloud. "I have... bad memories in that castle."

"That's what Master and I were discussing when you came up," Mickey said uncomfortably. "Unfortunately, there really isn't another good place that can hide us and provide lots o' Heartless for us to fight." The King scratched the back of his head. "We looked into Traverse Town first, but apparently, it's been wiped clean off the map."

Riku's eyes widened. "What happened to it?" he asked worriedly. "Heartless?"

"In a manner of speaking," Yen Sid offered. "You see, Traverse Town was a world made up from parts and pieces of other worlds that had been claimed by the Heartless. However, when Sora and his friends opened the door to Kingdom Hearts and defeated Ansem, all of the worlds that had comprised Traverse Town were returned to their normal state."

The memory of he and Sora on opposite sides of that door flashed through Riku's memory.

"So none of us wants it to be Hollow Bastion," Riku began slowly, "but there's really no choice, is there?" He looked warily at the other two.

"Looks that way," Mickey sighed.

"I'm afraid so," Yen Sid agreed. "I recommend you travel there today. If you wait, there is a chance that someone else may come and occupy the castle before you."

Mickey nodded. His face shifted into a determined glare. "He's right," he said to Riku. "The sooner, the better." Riku nodded as well and followed as the King ran from the room. They exited through the portal into the main tower and went back up the stairs into the bedroom.

"We don't really have anything to pack," Riku noted as they walked into the room.

"No, but I'd like to say good-bye to the fairies," Mickey replied. Riku nodded.

When they entered the bedroom, Riku noticed that it wasn't really a bedroom anymore. Instead, it was a circular room with a circular table in the middle. Around the wall of the room were several wardrobes, large and small. There were also five objects covered with drapes; they kind of looked like an artist's canvas.

"Welcome to the wardrobe room," a warm voice greeted them. Riku looked down and saw the fairy he had met earlier along with two other fairies, in red and green. "I am Merryweather," the blue fairy that had woken him up said.

"And my name is Flora," the fairy in red announced.

"And I'm Fauna," the green finished.

"The wardrobe is this room's normal state when Master Yen Sid isn't controlling it," Merryweather explained. Riku's eyes drifted to one of the covered objects behind the fairies; they noticed.

"Those are mirrors," Flora said. "Even when covered by those curtains, whoever looks at them will see themselves altered somehow. Why don't you try it out?"

Riku looked down at Mickey, who looked back up at him. "Go ahead, Riku," he said with a small nod. "It won't take that long. I've looked in them all before."

Riku nodded. "The first mirror is there behind you, closest to the door on the left," Fauna said. Riku nodded again and stepped forward to the first mirror. Immediately, an image flowed into his mind. He saw himself older; only by a few months, but older and more powerful. His silver hair had grown out past his shoulders and his bangs hung down in front of his eyes. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt under a yellow jacket.

Riku blinked and turned to look at the next mirror; it was sitting about five inches from the first, but it was wider. Another image flowed into his mind, except this time, he saw Kairi. She was older as well, as much older as he had been in the previous image. Her hair had grown as well, but it didn't reach her shoulder. She wore a pink dress with a zipper down the middle; he noticed with a blush that it was unzipped at the top even though she had a white undershirt.

The third mirror was standing behind the fairies. It was tall and thin, almost touching the ceiling. He saw another image, this time of Sora. He, too, was older, but his hair had remained pretty much the same. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with puffy pants and a thin black jacket. He held the Keyblade loosely in his right hand and was smiling brightly in Riku's direction.

The fourth mirror was very small, and the frame had a pointed edge at the top. Another image came into Riku's mind, once again of Sora. But he was different. He was carrying two Keyblades, one in each hand. His jumpsuit had changed color; the main color throughout had turned silver, but the secondary color on his shoulders and the huge pockets of his pants was pitch black. Riku could feel a strange energy coming from Sora's new form; an energy that contained both light... and darkness.

The final mirror was closest to the doorway; it was thin like the third mirror, but not quite as tall. One final image assaulted Riku's mind, but this time, pain came with it. He could see himself again, but what he saw was not pleasant. His body had been overrun by Ansem and Darkness poured out from his body is sickening waves. A maniacal grin was plastered on his face, as if he could see the destruction his own Darkness had caused... and he liked it.

The image vanished and Riku realized he was on the floor for some reason. "Are you alright, Riku?" Mickey asked loudly.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"You fainted after looking at the final mirror," Merryweather said. "I've never seen that happen before."

"What did you see, Riku?" the King asked softly.

"Myself," Riku choked out, "taken by Darkness."

Mickey's expression softened even more. "Do you need to rest for the day?" he asked.

Riku shook his head. "No, I'll be fine," he assured the King. "The pain is gone now. It was only there when I saw the final image." He turned to look at the fairies. "You told me the mirrors would show me images of myself, but only the first and last mirrors did; the others showed my friends."

All three of the fairies looked surprised by this revelation. "I must say, the mirrors have always worked the same for anyone who's ever used them," Flora said. "I can't say why they would work differently for you."

"We should tell Master Yen Sid about this," Fauna suggested.

"Yes," Merryweather agreed. "We'll tell him after Riku and His Majesty have left for their journey."

Riku picked himself up from the floor finally and gave Mickey a reassuring smile.

"Thank you," Mickey said to the fairies, "for taking care of us."

"And thank you," Riku added, "for showing me the possibilities of my future."

If the fairies looked confused by this statement, Riku didn't notice. He and Mickey walked out and into the main room.

Yen Sid was standing behind his desk chair staring out one of the star-shaped windows. "I see you are ready to go," he nodded sagely at them. "I have prepared a portal for your travel to Hollow Bastion. Slower travel would only contradict the reasons for going there."

"Thank you for everything, Master," Mickey said with a respectful bow. Riku mimicked the bow and offered his gratitude as well.

"We shall meet again," Yen Sid added. He then turned and waved a hand towards the door leading to the staircase. A portal appeared where the door was.

Riku and Mickey approached the portal silently. They exchanged a look, and Mickey volunteered to go through first. He jumped deftly into the swirling light. Riku cast a meaningless look back at Yen Sid only to find the room completely empty. Shaking his head, Riku chalked it up to another piece of magic and followed the King through the portal.

* * *

A/N: Whew! Long chapter. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this long. Of course, I had very little of this planned out, but that's just how I roll.

Also, I hope you all liked the little bit of foreshadowing I did with the mirrors. The fourth mirror in particular is my favorite. That's not Final Form by the way.


	3. Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee

Sorry for the delay on this chapter. This story is kind of on the backburner while I finish up my other KH fanfic. I've been itching to write this chapter though so here we go.

Gah, it always feels weird going from first-person present back to third-person past tense for this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Kingdom Hearts series or any character depicted therein. There, now stop sneding your lawyers after me.

* * *

"Hollow Bastion," Riku whispered. "I never thought I would come back here willingly."

"Don't worry, Riku," Mickey said with a reassuring smile. "There's no one here that will hurt you like Maleficent did."

"You're right. Thanks Mickey." The small king simply nodded and began walking forward.

Yen Sid's portal had dropped them right at the castle doors. Apparently the castle was still getting power from the contraptions below because the doors opened at Riku's touch.

"No one home and yet the door's wide open," he joked.

"Let's see what kind of Heartless are running around here first," the King suggested as they walked into the entry hall.

"The Heartless get tougher the deeper into the castle we travel," Riku explained. "Or at least, that's how Maleficent had it set up."

"Y'know," Mickey said as they made their way up the steps, "I haven't actually been in this castle since Maleficent took it over."

"Really?" Riku asked. They reached the doorway leading to the lift stop that would take them to the upper floors. "Wait, you mean someone controlled this castle before Maleficent?"

Mickey just looked up at his friend as they stepped onto the lift. "Yeah, before Maleficent, there was Ansem."

"Ansem was in this castle?" Riku asked loudly.

"Yes," Mickey answered with a small grin. "But even he took the castle from someone else."

"Who was that?" Riku questioned as they exited into the Great Crest. They stood in front of the lift so that they would avoid nearby Heartless while Mickey explained everything.

"Ansem the Wise," Mickey said. "The Ansem that you know of, the one that used the power of darkness, isn't really Ansem."

"W-what do you mean?" Riku cast an incredulous look at his friend. "Then who was Ansem the Wise?"

"Ansem the Wise was the ruler of this world before his apprentices banished him. The Ansem that tried to take you over was one of those apprentices." The mouse king gave a great sigh. "Ansem the Wise was a good friend of mine. I've been in this castle before because I knew him."

Riku looked up at the castle ramparts that jutted out in various places from the castle walls. "Then what was the name of his apprentice?" he asked. "The one who banished him?"

"I can't remember," Mickey replied. "I can remember seein' him one time when I visited, but I can't recall his name at all. He was the brightest of Ansem the Wise's apprentices, though, and was very interested in research about Kingdom Hearts."

"Well, I think that's enough for now," Riku said with a small nod. "It's time to test out my new Keyblade." Way to the Dawn materialized into Riku's hand.

Mickey smiled, materializing his own Keyblade as well. "Okay, let's go!"

The Great Crest offered a nice selection of Heartless for them to battle, and they quickly moved up the castle. Upon reaching the chapel, Riku stopped.

"This is where I met Ansem," Riku said, standing in the light pouring in from the stained glass above them. "Well, the fake Ansem anyway. It was right after I fought Sora. He told me my heart was weak; told me the darkness would make me stronger."

Mickey watched his friend with a sad face.

"But it only made me weaker," Riku finished.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Mickey said. "Darkness is what helped you get through Castle Oblivion, right? I told ya before. Your power uses both light and darkness." He smiled up at Riku. "Without darkness, you wouldn't be you anymore."

"Thanks, Mickey," Riku replied. "I think the darkness in this place is affecting my mind. It's bringing up bad memories; I knew I would remember things if I came back here, but the darkness is making me think too much about the darkness."

"Darkness will never take hold of you like it did before," Mickey assured. "I promise that."

"You're right," Riku replied. "I'm stronger now."

"And you have great friends to help ya when you need it!" Mickey added. "I don't mean just me an' Sora, either." Riku looked confused, but Mickey continued. "I'm talkin' about everyone in all o' the worlds. You fought to keep the darkness from taking over just as much as Sora and the rest of us. I'm sure if they how much you've done to keep them all from being taken by the darkness, why they'd all be happy to call you a friend!"

"But I've never even met them!"

"That's okay," Mickey said. "Just as long as you care about them, even if you don't who they are. So long as you fight to keep them safe, that's what matters." Riku nodded.

"I think we should start lookin' for a place to sleep," Mickey said. "It's gotten pretty late and I wanna get up tomorrow to check out the town."

"What town?" Riku asked curiously.

Mickey looked surprised. "I guess no one lived in the town when Maleficent was here," he said. "There's a town that this castle overlooks. It used to be called 'Radiant Garden,' but when Ansem the Wise was banished a lot o' people left. When Maleficent took over, everyone left. It's a ghost town now, I suppose. I figured maybe some of the people had come back now that Maleficent is gone."

"That makes sense," Riku agreed. "Alright, I know where some bedrooms are in the castle. Follow me."

They made their way back down to the library, taking out more of the Heartless along the way.

"It should be right around here," Riku said as he examined one of the many bookshelves. He reached behind one of the books and pushed a switch in the wall. "Aha!" The bookshelf moved away from them, revealing a pathway behind it. "Maleficent kept the bedrooms like this so that they could only be opened from the outside," Riku explained. "She didn't want me leaving on my own, I suppose."

"I guess we can just leave the bookshelf open all night then," Mickey guessed.

"I'm gonna stick something in between the bookshelf and the wall to keep it from closing all the way," Riku answered. "Alternatively, we could just break through it, but then we loose the books, too."

"And these books could contain important research about the Heartless," Mickey finished.

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Riku replied. "While we're here training, we might as well read up as well. Get to know more about the Heartless and these Nobodies of Organization XIII."

"Oh!"

Riku stopped walking and looked around; Mickey had stopped, too, with a shocked expression. "Mickey, wha-"

"I remember!" Mickey exclaimed. "When I was in the dark realm, before we all closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, I ran into the leader of Organization XIII! It was the Nobody of the fake Ansem, Ansem the Wise's apprentice!"

Riku stared at his friend, shocked as well. "Wait, so the leader of Organization XIII is the Nobody of the guy who tried to take me over?" he asked.

"Yep," Mickey answered. "That's the guy. Still can't remember a name, though. And couldn't really see his face, either. He was wearin' a cloak like the ones we're wearin' and he kept the hood up the whole time."

"Hmm, well that's just great," Riku groaned. "I barely took out the fake Ansem in Castle Oblivion. I can't even imagine what his Nobody is like."

"He said he'd tested Sora," Mickey added.

"What?"

"Yeah, the guy said he fought him when Sora came back to seal the Keyhole here," the King explained. "He said Sora was strong, but he was 'missing half.' He didn't say much else, though."

"'Missing half?'" Riku echoed. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure myself," Mickey replied. "Maybe we'll figure something out, but right now I think we should get some rest." Riku nodded.

"Good night, Mickey," he said, settling himself onto one of the beds.

"Good night."

* * *

"So this place used to be called Radiant Garden?" Riku asked.

He and King Mickey had woken up early so they could travel into the town below the castle. There were very few people there, and no one had spoken to them so far.

"Yep, it was a magnificent place," Mickey explained. "Ansem the Wise and all the people here loved it. That was back when I was settin' up a transit system between the worlds."

"Did one of you say 'Radiant Garden?'" a voice called suddenly.

Riku and Mickey turned around to see a girl in a pink dress looking at them. She examined Riku carefully and then looked at Mickey.

"Oh, Your Majesty!" she gasped. The girl fell down quickly to one knee in a respectful bow.

"No need for that, Aerith," Mickey said. The girl, apparently named Aerith, picked herself up.

"You know her?" Riku questioned.

"Yeah," Mickey replied. "Aerith used to live here in the town before Ansem the Wise was banished." The King turned to look at the young woman. "How are Leon and the others? Are they here, too?"

"We're all fine," Aerith answered brightly. "We set up a sort of base of operations in town to start up a restoration committee. Leon is the leader."

"That's great!" Mickey said happily. "We can get this town back to the way it should be."

"Come on, I'll take you both to see the rest of the group," Aerith offered. "We're staying at Merlin's house."

"Merlin?" Mickey repeated. "I didn't know he was in town!"

"He came here when Traverse Town disappeared," Aerith explained. "The house isn't far from here. We can talk more once we're there." They started walking through the market district and entered into what looked like a residential area. The short walk was quiet; no Heartless appeared.

"So how come there's no Heartless here?" Riku asked.

"We take care of the Heartless on a regular basis during the day so that they don't trouble the townsfolk," Aerith explained. Riku just nodded as they walked up a few steps. "Here we are."

Aerith opened the door and welcomed them in. "We have visitors," she announced.

"Ah! Your Majesty!" several voices called out.

"It's great to see you all!" Mickey said with a wide smile. He looked over at Riku. "This here is Riku; he's a friend of Sora's."

"It's nice to meet you Riku," Aerith said. "Let me introduce everyone." She pointed at a short girl wearing a black outfit. "That's Yuffie, she's a ninja." Next, she pointed at an older man sitting in front of a computer. "That's Cid, he's good with computers and Gummi ships." Next, she pointed out two men standing on the other side of the room. "The one with darker hair and the leather jacket is Squall Leonhart, but he prefers to be called Leon. The elder man with the wizard's hat is Merlin."

"Where are Cloud and Tifa?" Mickey asked suddenly.

"Cloud is here in town," Aerith answered. "He showed up a little while ago. He stays away from here a lot, though." The girl frowned and gave a small sigh. "We haven't seen Tifa yet. We think she's searching for Cloud, but she hasn't shown up in the town here yet."

"Well, I'm sure she's okay," Mickey said, "and it's good to know Cloud is back here."

"Not to be rude, Your Majesty," Leon suddenly began, "but do you mind if we ask why you and Riku are here?"

"Master Yen Sid sent us here," Mickey replied. "Sora is sleeping; he's lost his memories and he needs to get them back."

"What happened?" Yuffie cried.

"That's a long story," Riku answered, speaking for the first time since entering the house. "Ever heard of Organization XIII?"

Riku explained everything that he knew about what had happened to Sora in Castle Oblivion, but refrained from speaking about his own journey through the castle.

"That's incredible," Merlin said as the story ended. "A young girl with the power to alter Sora's memories."

"And the memories of those connected to him," Riku added.

"So how long will it take to get his memories back?" Aerith asked.

"No idea," Riku said. "Naminé didn't say."

"Well, in the meantime, we just have to keep the realm of light safe," Mickey said. "And we can start by returning Hollow Bastion back to its former glory. We'd like to help out."

"That's good to hear," Leon replied. "I can have official membership cards ready for you by tomorrow."

"That's great!" Mickey replied.

"I'm gonna go look around the town some more," Riku said. "Are you coming, too, Mickey?"

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a bit," the King answered. "I need to talk with Merlin."

"I'll go with you," Yuffie offered. "Don't want you getting lost now."

"Thanks then," Riku replied.

* * *

"Did you grow up here in this town?"

"Yeah," Yuffie answered, "but I lived in Traverse Town for a long time, too. It was almost a decade ago that Ansem the Wise was banished."

Riku gave a small laugh. "Something funny?" Yuffie wondered.

"It's just... Ten years ago, I was fighting with wooden swords and chasing off imaginary monsters in the cave on the islands. Then the Door to Darkness opened and everything went to hell in a handbasket."

"It was like that for us, too," Yuffie explained. "One day everything was bright and cheery, and then the next, Ansem the Wise is gone who-knows-where and his former apprentices are taking over."

"It must have been tough, having to leave your childhood home like that," Riku said sadly.

"You would know," Yuffie countered.

"Heh."

The two of them entered the bailey and stopped at the viewpoint that overlooked the Great Maw leading towards another castle off in the distance. "You and the King are staying at the castle nearby, right?" Yuffie pondered.

"Yeah, that's where Master Yen Sid said was the best place for us to go," Riku replied. "We didn't think anyone would be in the town, but I think Yen Sid knew you all were here."

"I've never met Master Yen Sid," Yuffie said, "but I've heard about him from the others. He used to visit here a lot, apparently, but that was before I was even born."

"He's amazingly powerful," Riku explained. "There's a room in his tower that he can change the shape of at will, without so much as batting an eyelash."

"Wow, he does sound powerful," Yuffie mused. "Why doesn't he-?"

"He doesn't like using his power," Riku explained, "or so King Mickey told me."

"How do you know the King?" Yuffie asked, genuinely curious.

"He told you that I'm a friend of Sora's earlier," he answered. "When our islands were overtaken by the darkness, Sora ended up in Traverse Town." He looked at Yuffie sadly. "I wound up here."

The girl gasped. "Maleficent?" she asked. Riku nodded.

"The witch found me, took me in," he said, gritting his teeth. "She started feeding me lies about darkness and about Sora. Eventually, her lies got through to me and darkness started to consume me. When Sora reached Kingdom Hearts, after defeating the fake Ansem's Heartless, I was stuck on the other side of that door with the King."

"In the realm of darkness?"

"Right. And then, after floating around in the darkness for... I don't even know how long, I appeared at Castle Oblivion, but I was in the basement, twelve floors below where Sora had entered. His Majesty helped me fight while I was in the castle, and helped push back the darkness in my heart. After that, well, we traveled to meet Master Yen Sid and then came here."

Riku smiled at Yuffie. "That's my story."

"Pretty cool," Yuffie said in awe. "I can see why Sora calls you his best friend."

"Heh." Riku looked out towards the castle again.

"Are you two going to stay in the castle again?" Yuffie asked.

"I think so," he replied. "Yen Sid told us it would keep the Organization from finding us. But we'll probably only stay for a few more days. I think being in the town will provide us with enough protection. There's some really insightful books in the library there. We'll probably bring some back with us."

"Books about the Heartless?" the kunoichi asked.

"Probably. There's likely info about Kingdom Hearts, the Heartless, and maybe even the Nobodies."

"Hmm, well," Yuffie said. "We should probably head back to Merlin's house. We've been standing here for about ten minutes now, and there's not much left of the Hollow Bastion grand tour anyway."

"Heh, alright, let's head back then."

* * *

"Hey, Cloud!" Yuffie called as they neared Merlin's house.

The blond-haired man turned to look at the ninja girl. "Yuffie," he said as a greeting.

"Good to see you in town for once," Yuffie said brightly, ignoring Cloud's anti-social demeanor. "Guess what, King Mickey is in town!"

Cloud's eyes shot open for a moment. "I thought he was lost in the realm of darkness?"

"We were," Riku explained, walking to stand next to Yuffie.

Cloud raised an eyebrow and looked at Yuffie. "This is Riku," she explained. "He's Sora's friend and was trapped behind Kingdom Hearts with the King apparently."

"Hn," was all Cloud said in reply. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Riku replied. "We were just headed back to Merlin's house. Is that where you were going?" Cloud nodded.

"Is Tifa there?" he asked Yuffie. The girl just shook her head. Cloud nodded. "Okay." He stalked away, letting the other two follow behind.

"Isn't he the one Tifa's looking for?" Riku whispered as they walked.

"Yeah," Yuffie answered, "but he's looking for someone, too."

"Who?"

"I think it's best that Cloud tells you that," Yuffie replied. "When he's ready. Even we haven't gotten the full story yet."

By the time they reached Merlin's house, Cloud had already gone inside. Yuffie and Riku entered the house to find Cloud greeting King Mickey.

"We've already met," Riku said before Mickey got the chance to say anything.

"Good then," the mouse king said. "We need to be heading back, Riku. We gotta get in some training today."

"Right," he said. "Bye everyone. It was nice meeting you all."

"We'll probably move in town in a few days," Mickey explained. "So we'll see you all real soon."

Everyone said their good-byes and then Riku and Mickey left to head back to the castle.

* * *

A/N: Chapter done! Kinda filler-ish, but I like the interaction between Riku and Yuffie here. No I'm not going to do RikuXYuffie pairing for this fic; that's used too much in KH fanfiction already.

Ah yes. I almost forgot to mention. Ignore the fact that everyone's memories of Sora were erased by Naminé. I didn't realize until I was working on this chapter that the memory loss would be a major problem with this. So just pretend that Naminé didn't actually erase Sora from their memories.

Before I forget, I'm starting a YouTube video game commentary group. Out first game will be Kingdom Hearts 1. The link is on my author profile, so please check it out. There's not much there right now, but we'll be getting some more done soon!


	4. Birth by Oblivion

My Roxas fic is almost complete. Just 1 more chapter. But I can't get my mind to work on that one so I'm writing this. Seems like a good idea to me.

Quick bit of info. I looked over the timeline of 358/2 Days and I had Axel's return at entirely the wrong place. It's actually around this time frame; further from the actual events at Castle Oblivion than I thought. So the earlier scene with Axel will be moved to this chapter.

WARNING: Birth By Sleep spoilers! Important plot points about the ending of Birth By Sleep get revealed during this chapters, so don't read if you don't want it spoiled!

Disclaimer: Don't belong to me, fool.

* * *

"Another day, another training session."

Riku groaned as the mouse king's voice carried into his bedroom. He forced his body to sit up and he was barely able to catch a glimpse of the King's tail swishing around the door as he left. Riku gratefully fell back onto the mattress again, desperate for even another minute's worth of sleep.

It had been one week since the duo had arrived in Hollow Bastion, although Riku much preferred to call it by its former name, Radiant Garden. In fact, Riku's preference had even begun to spread to some of the townsfolk; according to Aerith, no one had called the town "Radiant Garden" since the fall of Ansem the Wise. Since he had arrived, Riku had overheard many of the people in the town doing just that. It was as though the world's former name had been taboo before and now everything was back to normal.

"C'mon Riku!" The young man jumped when Mickey's voice called out again. "Hurry up! I got somethin' you need to hear!" The serious tone of the king's voice got Riku's attention immediately.

Understanding that he would be unable to stay in his bed any longer, Riku pushed himself up again. He looked around his bedroom. They were still staying in the castle, Riku choosing to sleep in a different room than what had been his quarters while Maleficent was here. Cid and the others had been unable to procure appropriate housing for them in the town.

Riku's normal morning routine consisted of taking a shower, ruffling through an unorganized pile of clothes, and grabbing a single granola bar for his meager breakfast. He didn't have time for cereal or anything that could be cooked. The bar wasn't much and it made him think of what cardboard must taste like, but it was something he could eat very quickly and with no hassle.

"So what's the news, Mickey?" Riku asked as he entered the library. The King was sitting at one of the tables with several different books, looking very concerned.

"I received a message from DiƵ," he explained.

"Sora?" Riku guessed. The King nodded.

"He said it probably wasn't that big of a deal, but Naminé is having trouble gathering some of Sora's memories." Riku looked worried. "He didn't give me any concrete details, but he said it may take longer than we'd hoped to get Sora's memories all fixed up."

"When we left down the road to dawn," Riku began, "DiƵ said he might need my help. Did he mention anything about that?"

"Nope, he didn't say anything about you."

"Well, at least I get more time for training then," Riku said with somewhat-fake optimism. Mickey just laughed and got up from his seat to put away the book he had been reading before.

"Okay, today's training session is gonna be more like a lesson," Mickey said as they entered the Great Hall. "Normally I would teach you how to fire orbs of light like I can, but since you use both light and darkness, I think it would be beneficial for you to learn how to fire orbs made of both elements."

"Like the combo attack we used in Castle Oblivion," Riku said, guessing where the idea had come from.

"Right!" Mickey replied. "'Cept you forgot how to do that once you left the castle. I can tell 'cuz ya didn't use 'em at all in the past few days since we got here."

"You're right," Riku admitted. "I didn't even notice it until now." He looked over to his instructor with a determined expression. "Alright, Mickey, I'm ready."

* * *

"So you guys are finally moving in?" Yuffie asked.

"Yep, Leon finally found a decent place for us to stay that's near Merlin's house," Riku replied as they walked into the market area of town. "Turns out the reason it was so tough to find a place was that everyone wanted to live near the Restoration Committee headquarters because they figured it was the safest place."

"Well, I suppose it kind of is the safest place in the town," Yuffie replied. "I mean, between you, the King, Leon, Merlin, Cid, Aerith, and me, those Heartless don't stand a chance."

"Is Cid a good fighter?"

"Not particularly," Yuffie laughed, "but he keeps some tricks up his sleeves. He's really good with building stuff so he carries around some weapons that he built himself."

"That's pretty cool," Riku said in mild awe. "I would ask why you don't just have him build weapons for all of you but I guess none of you really need them."

"Nope, Leon has his Gunblade, Aerith hardly ever carries a weapon but she uses a staff sometimes, and I use my shuriken!" Yuffie smiled, but then her face fell into a frown.

"What's up?" Riku asked.

Yuffie groaned. "I left my shuriken back at Merlin's house," she admitted with a small blush. "I'm gonna head back to get it real quick. Don't go anywhere."

"Yuffie, wa-" Riku tried to stop her but she was already gone. "Really, it's not like I couldn't take care of any Heartless that appeared." Riku looked around the market. He didn't recognize any of the people specifically, but some of them recognized him as one of the two new Restoration Committee members so they greeted him warmly.

Riku's head snapped around when he heard a scream from a nearby alleyway. Summoning his Way to the Dawn, he rushed towards the alley. Several Heartless had surrounded a young girl; the girl seemed to have a small wound on her leg, either from falling over or from one of the shadow creatures.

Never stopping in his stride, Riku raced towards the offending monsters. They scattered as he approached and he stopped in front of the girl. "It'll be okay," he said calmly. It was an incredibly cliché line to use, but he wasn't worried about that. "Can you walk?" he asked. The girl nodded after testing her wounded leg. "Good, run for the town when you get an opening."

Riku focused his attention on the group of Heartless. There were more of them now; the ones that had attacked the girl had been just a few Shadows, but now there were Soldiers, Defenders, and Large Bodies as well. Even on a bad day Riku knew a group like that would be no trouble for him, but if he left any kind of opening, the Heartless would attack the girl again. He held his ground.

The group of Heartless had moved now to block Riku and the girl in by forming a semicircle around them. Riku backed up to hide the girl from their view, but this only caused the monsters to move forward. Without warning, a Soldier lunged from his left, aiming for the girl. Way to the Dawn flashed through the air, cutting the creature down.

Turning back, Riku realized the Soldier had only been a decoy. The other Heartless had moved while his back had been turned and were almost upon them, ready to take the small girl's heart. Riku would barely have enough time to stop the faster ones, but the Heartless behind those would easily get by.

Just as Riku was about to slash at the fastest of the creatures, they all disappeared, obliterated by the person who had just appeared. Riku kept his Keyblade in front of him, aware that this new person could be an enemy, even a member of the Organization.

The kind eyes that turned to look at him and the girl said differently. It was a woman, beautiful beyond Riku's vocabulary. She had long black hair and wore a sleeveless black top with black shorts covered by a black skirt cut to the hip on both sides.

"Are you both alright?" she asked kindly. Riku nodded. She eyed his weapon curiously. "That's a cool weapon." In the corner of his eye, he noticed the young girl running back down the alley.

"Thanks," Riku replied, satisfied that this newcomer was friendly. His Keyblade vanished as she moved forward, scrutinizing his face.

"You look like a fighter," the woman said. "Do you know a guy with really spiky hair that carries a big sword?"

"Well," Riku stopped to think. "I know a guy in the Restoration Committee with spiky hair, but I've never seen him carrying any kind of sword." The woman look disappointed. "Sorry. I could take you to see the Restoration Committee, though. Maybe they know this guy."

"No, I think I'd best be moving on," she said mysteriously. "If you didn't see any sword at all, it's probably not the right guy." She jumped nimbly to the roof of a nearby building. "My name's Tifa by the way!" she called as she jumped away.

Riku moved to stop her, but he realized he was much too late. _'Mickey and the Committe members mentioned that Tifa hadn't shown up yet,'_ he mused. _'I'm betting that was the same Tifa.'_Riku walked back into the market area of town. He immediately noticed the young girl he and Tifa had rescued dragging two women towards him. One he noticed quickly was Yuffie and the other he assumed must be the girl's mother.

"That's the boy that saved me, mommy!" the girl explained.

"Thank you so much for saving my Yuki," the woman said through tears of joy. "I'm glad the Restoration Committee was nearby to prevent those wretched creatures from hurting her."

"It was no problem, ma'am," Riku replied awkwardly. He wasn't used to receiving any kind of praise for what he thought would be a normal reaction. There was also the fact that Tifa had actually saved the girl.

"Good work, Riku," Yuffie said. "I told you to stay put, but I guess I'll overlook it just this once."

Riku laughed and said good-bye to the young girl and her mother. "It's a great feeling, isn't it?" Yuffie asked as they watched them go. "Knowing that you saved someone."

"Yeah. I'm just glad Tifa showed up when she did."

Yuffie nodded before his words actually hit her. "Wait, Tifa?" she asked quickly.

"Oh yeah," Riku said stupidly. "The Heartless tricked me and almost got the girl, but Tifa appeared and wiped them all out. She asked if I knew anyone with spiky hair and a huge sword, and I told her I only know Cloud, but I've never seen him with a sword-"

"Cloud is the one she was looking for!" Yuffie cried. "His sword _is_huge. He just doesn't carry it around while he's in town 'cause it's kinda scary for the townsfolk to look at." Yuffie shook her head. "That's beside the point; where'd Tifa go?"

"She jumped onto a rooftop and left right after telling me her name," Riku admitted. "I didn't have a chance to stop her. Sorry."

Yuffie sighed. "No," she said. "No, it's okay. At least we know she's alright." Riku looked curious. "No one's seen Tifa since we left Radiant Garden before. Cloud said he found her once, but she never knew he was there. Tifa's been searching for him apparently."

"Why-" He read Yuffie's expression. "None of my business. Got it."

* * *

_Elsewhere..._

"Hey, Roxas!"

A young boy with spiky, sandy blonde hair turned around to look at the person who had just called him. The person Roxas saw was the very last person he had ever expected to see again. The figure was difficult to see with the Twilight Town sun, but he could make out the wild dark red hair, spikier than his own.

"How's it hanging?" Axel asked with a smirk. Roxas' eyes widened as the tall redhead moved closer. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Axel..." Roxas whispered. "But I thought you were gone! Castle Oblivion- the whole team was annihilated..."

"Correction: the weaklings were annihilated," Axel amended.

Nearby, two more cloaked figures stood in the shadows watching the reunion.

"It seems Number Eight performed well," the shorter figure said.

"I fear it was the Keyblade masters that did most of the work," the other countered. "I have felt Sora's power. Even though he is missing half, he is a formidable opponent."

"And the other? The dark one?"

The Superior chuckled as he stalked away from the Luna Diviner. "Even if he controls the power of my Other, he is of no importance."

* * *

"Where's King Mickey?" Riku asked as he entered Merlin's house.

"He left early this morning to visit Master Yen Sid," the owner of the house answered. "Some very important business, I fear. He said that he would return this evening."

"Thanks, Merlin," Riku replied. "I guess I get the day off from training then."

"Actually, His Majesty asked me to overlook your 'training' for the day," Merlin explained. "I'm very advanced in the use of magic so he asked me to teach you some basic spells. Though from what His Majesty has told me it shouldn't take you very long to learn them."

Riku stuck his hands into the pockets of his black cloak. "So where are we going to practice this?" he asked.

"There's a nice little area just beyond the Bailey," Merlin explained, "that will provide us with an open environment so that you have a lot of space to move around."

Riku nodded. "Lead the way."

Once they had arrived in the Great Maw, Riku stopped and looked out to the castle in the distance. That castle wasn't the same one that Maleficent had occupied, and he wondered why this world had two castles so close together.

"Villain's Vale."

Riku jumped. He had forgotten that Merlin was with him. "That is the castle that Maleficent constructed herself," Merlin continued. "It was used as her main base of operations for nine years."

"I didn't know that," Riku admitted. "She never told me about a second castle."

"It's just as well," Merlin continued quickly. "The darkness in that place is greater even than what resides in Ansem the Wise's castle." Merlin stopped walking and asked Riku to stand about ten feet in front of him.

"Now then, my boy," he began, "I'm going to teach you some basic magic, but I'm just going to show you the very beginner course. I know King Mickey has taught you some offensive magic spells, but I'm going to be showing you some white magic as well. It will be up to you to enhance your magical powers; one cannot teach experience."

Riku nodded and summoned his Way to the Dawn. Merlin nodded as well. "Good. Focusing magic through your Keyblade will make things easier," he said. "Eventually, you'll be proficient enough with your magic to call your spells at full power with just a wave of your hand."

"The first spell I want to teach you is the Reflect spell. It will stop most attacks and send the power back against the attacker. How much damage you reflect and how much you can block is dependent upon your own ability."

"Alright, so how do I cast it?" Riku asked.

"Gather your magic energy into a dense ball around your navel," Merlin commanded. "Make sure the energy is compacted extremely tight, almost like you were squeezing a rubber ball very tight. When you want to unleash the spell, just let the energy explode outwards. Merlin demonstrated by summoning a Reflect shield around himself. "It's the easiest of the defensive or 'white magic' spells."

Riku nodded and began to focus his magical energy into his Keyblade. He tried to make his power as dense as possible, but he couldn't control it well. Casting offensive spells like Dark Firaga was easy: he just had to send the power to his hand and let it go. Compacting his energy into a dense ball was a much more difficult task.

"Instead of focusing the ball of energy within your Keyblade," Merlin began, "focus the energy at your core. Let the Keyblade become part of the circuit in which your magical energy travels. It will keep your magic in check, making sure you don't focus too much of your power into one spot."

"That's right," Riku said with a sheepish grin. "You did tell me to focus the energy around my navel. Sorry."

Riku took a deep breath and began focusing again. He gathered his energy around his navel this time and found it much easier to compact the magic into a dense ball. Merlin was right when he said it was like squeezing a rubber ball. Just when Riku thought he couldn't control the power any longer he let it burst outward, extending from within him to form the same barrier that had surrounded Merlin.

Well, it wasn't the _exact_same barrier. Merlin's had been much larger and had included floating bits of energy that Riku guessed would increase the damage-reflecting ability of the spell. Riku's was a small semisphere that stayed for only a few seconds. Merlin's had remained for at least 15 seconds.

"Looks like I still have a ways to go," Riku sighed.

* * *

"Master Yen Sid, I need to speak with you."

"Mickey, my friend," Yen Sid's deep voice answered, "it is good to see you. I am aware of what you wish to discuss. Sadly, much like when you and Riku were here before, I have no news of the whereabouts of Ventus, Aqua, or Terra."

"I figured as much," Mickey said with a determined look, "but I think I might have an idea of where Ven is."

Merlin looked surprised and leaned forward in his chair. "Please share your thoughts."

"I didn't notice it until the past couple days," Mickey explained, "but I know I felt a weird presence when Riku and I were in Castle Oblivion. I couldn't place the feeling at the time, but it felt familiar to me. Last night, I figured it out: it was Ven! I recognize the signature of his magic. He's somewhere in Castle Oblivion!"

Yen Sid sat back in his chair again, placing his fingertips together in his usual thinking pose. "Mickey," he said after several moments of silence, "if what you suggest is true, I believe I can tell you even more."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked.

Yen Sid looked down at his former apprentice. "You remember my late colleague, Master Eraqus?" he asked, receiving a nod in reply from the mouse king. "Eraqus had a safeguard installed in the Land of Departure, where he lived with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Using his Keyblade, the world would be locked away in the realm between light and darkness."

"'The realm between light and darkness?'" Mickey repeated. "Oh!"

"Correct," Yen Sid nodded. "If Ventus is actually inside Castle Oblivion, I believe Aqua took Eraqus' Keyblade and sealed the Land of Departure away, thus creating Castle Oblivion. The question remains of where in the castle Ventus resides, however, not to mention the whereabouts of Terra and Aqua."

* * *

A/N: Whew. The ending stuff was all spur of the moment, and meant to clash with the general boringness of the rest of the chapter. I apologize for anyone who had BBS plot points spoiled for them, but I did give a warning in the opening note. Next thing I work on should be the final chapter of But Not Forgotten.


	5. The One-Winged Angel

"I keep forgetting we've moved into the town," Riku grumbled as he woke up to somewhat unfamiliar surroundings for the third day in a row. "Used to the castle bedroom ..."

He looked over and saw Mickey sitting at a table, holding his head with a concerned expression. "What's up, Mickey?" Riku asked. "News from DiƵ or Master Yen Sid?"

The King nodded his head. "DiƵ sent the message early this morning," he said; his voice sounded raspy, a strange sound coming from the mouse king. "He figured out why Naminé is havin' so much trouble gatherin' Sora' memories."

"Well what is it?" Riku asked, concerned for his friend.

"After Ansem forced you to fight Sora in the castle, Sora turned himself into a Heartless to release Kairi's heart. DiƵ explained that when a person with a strong heart like Sora is turned into a Heartless somethin' called a 'Nobody' is created."

"'Nobody,'" Riku echoed. "Wait, you mean like Organization XIII?"

"Exactly, except most Nobodies don't have a humanoid form like the Organization," Mickey continued. "It turns out Sora's Nobody still exists even though Sora's not a Heartless anymore. And what's more, he's joined the Organization."

"So how does all of this affect Sora's memories?" Riku asked, still not seeing the big problem.

"Well, DiƵ wasn't real sure since there's never been a Nobody alive while the original is too, but he said that Sora's Nobody is holding some of his memories... and they're leaking out of him into someone else in the Organization now."

"They're... _draining_ Sora's memories out?" Riku yelled.

"DiƵ said it was most likely accidental, but something may be going on in the Organization that we don't know about."

Riku nodded. "So we need someone to infiltrate them," he guessed. "And that's why DiƵ needs my help now."

Mickey nodded. "Yep, but he said to wait a little while until your training is complete. His exact words were, 'No sense in sending the boy to his death.'" Mickey grimaced and Riku frowned.

"Well how much more training do you think I need?" Riku asked.

Mickey glanced at him. "I'd say you could probably learn everything you need within a month," he smiled. "You've been doin' real well with the stuff Merlin showed you, and controlling your darkness is getting easier for you."

"Alright. Are you gonna send a message back to DiƵ then?" Mickey nodded. "Okay, let's go get something to eat. I'm tired of granola bars every morning." Mickey laughed.

"Come on, we can grab somethin' from headquarters. Cid's a good cook, too."

* * *

"Mornin' fellas!" Cid called when Mickey and Riku entered Merlin's house. He was typing away at a large computer set against the wall; the screen reached to the ceiling as if it weren't even trying. Cid turned to look at them. "Everyone else is out in the town right now. Big surge of Heartless appeared about fifteen minutes ago, enough to get Cloud involved, too."

"Then we better get out there and help, too!" Riku said.

"Too late," said a voice behind them. They looked and found Leon and Yuffie walking into the house. "All the Heartless are gone."

"Not a bad job, if I do say so myself," Yuffie grinned at Riku. He smiled back.

"Where's everyone else then?" Mickey asked Leon.

"Aerith and Merlin decided to stay in the town to keep on patrol for any more Heartless," he answered as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"And Cloud went off who knows where to sulk like usual," Yuffie finished as she sat down at a small table and grabbed a doughnut. "Cid, is there any bacon left?"

"I threw it out 'cuz I figured you all would be out for a while," the mechanic replied sheepishly. "I'll whip up some more since Riku and the King showed up now, too."

"Don't work yourself on our account," Riku said. "I can just get a doughnut."

"It's all good, kiddo," Cid replied. "The little ninja would get on me to cook more anyway. She always has an appetite after a fight."

Riku chuckled at Yuffie's mock-hurt expression.

Mickey walked over to where Leon was sipping his coffee. "I want you and Yuffie to stick around for a while," he whispered. "I got some news about Sora, but I want to wait until Aerith and Merlin are here."

"And we'll tell Cloud next time he shows up?" Leon guessed.

"Yeah," Mickey gave a chuckle. "Waiting on him would take a while. Actually, I was thinking of sending Riku to find Cloud and tell him about this." Leon raised an eyebrow. "They haven't really gotten to know each other like the rest of the Restoration Committee yet. And apparently Riku ran into Tifa the other day without realizing it. Cloud doesn't know yet."

Leon narrowed his eyes at the king. "If Cloud finds out Tifa was here, he may take off," he whispered.

"I think Riku will convince him to stay," Mickey replied. Leon offered a skeptic look but nodded.

"Bacon's ready!" Cid called from the kitchen room that Merlin had installed (magically).

* * *

Aerith and Merlin returned not long after Riku had left to find Cloud. "Confounded Heartless!" Merlin grumbled as he walked through the doorway.

"What happened?" Leon asked.

"One of the blasted creatures set my hat on fire!" the old wizard practically shouted, pointing to the pointy hat on his head. Sure enough, the hat looked as though it had been burned slightly.

"He cast a Fire magic against a Defender and it knocked the spell back at him," Aerith explained with a small giggle. Leon chuckled.

"I'm glad you guys are back, actually," Mickey said. "I got some news this mornin' about Sora. DiƵ explained it to me like this: when a strong-hearted person becomes a Heartless, a Nobody is created, too. They're the ones that control the Organization. It turns out that Ansem tricked Sora into turnin' himself into a Heartless so a Nobody got created, too. Kairi was able to turn Sora back, though, but the Nobody remained and joined the Organization."

"So there's an evil version of Sora running around somewhere?" Yuffie asked.

"Sort of," Mickey replied. "It's more like there's someone with half of Sora's heart and memories out there. And that's why DiƵ and Naminé are havin' trouble puttin' Sora's memories back together. That Nobody has half of the memories... and they're bein' slowly transferred to someone else in the Organization. We don't know who or why."

"Is there any way we can help?" Leon suggested.

Mickey frowned. "DiƵ doesn't think so, but he asked for Riku to come see him in about a month's time. I think he's going to have Riku infiltrate the Organization. He's the best of us at hiding his presence and sensing darkness."

"We'll just have to help the lad grow stronger in the next month's time," Merlin suggested. "That's the least we can do."

* * *

Riku had searched the entire town without finding a trace of Cloud. None of the citizens had seen him, but quite a few told him where Cloud went to be alone. They had learned the hard way, it seemed.

The Dark Depths; a small area past the Great Maw of Radiant Garden that looks upon the castle known as Villain's Vale. It was far away from the town and even from the other castle, the one that had belonged to Ansem the Wise. It seemed as likely a place as any to find Cloud if he wanted to get away from the crowds in the main town.

A few Heartless had gathered in the Great Maw. Riku ignored them. If they weren't attacking people, they weren't really bothering anything. He continued onwards to the Dark Depths.

"Cloud?" he called as he rounded the way leading up to the viewing point. Riku made his way up the hill from the Great Maw and saw his target sitting in a meditation pose at the edge of the cliff. A massive sword sat on his lap. It was as wide as a person and nearly as tall. _'Yuffie wasn't kidding; that sword is huge!'_ "Cloud!"

The blond man gave no response to Riku's call. Undeterred, Riku walked up and placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder. He quickly withdrew said appendage when Cloud sprang up and swung his large blade at Riku.

The younger boy dodged to his side, summon his Keyblade. "Cloud, what-!"

"It's nice to see you… Cloud."

Riku turned to look where Cloud had attacked. Standing there was an alarmingly-tall man. He wore a strange black outfit and had silver hair that went all the way down his back. What Riku noticed first, however, was the incredibly long sword currently clashing with Cloud's. The newcomer's blade was easily longer than Cloud's but was thin like a katana.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as he pushed against the thin blade.

"You know him?" Riku asked as he brandished his weapon.

"A Keyblade," Sephiroth mused, effortlessly holding Cloud back. "Interesting…."

"Stop ignoring me!" Cloud shouted. He drew his sword away and launched another attack at Sephiroth. Just as before, Sephiroth seemed to have no trouble blocking and dodging Cloud's attacks. "Fight!"

"As you wish, Cloud." Sephiroth parried, knocking Cloud away. He rushed after his prey, ready to slice the blond man in two.

"Reflect!"

A bright barrier appeared around Riku as he rushed to Cloud's side. Surprised by the sudden spell, Sephiroth's blade bounced harmlessly off the wall of magic. Undeterred, he jumped back while holding out his hand to cast a spell. Spheres of dark energy formed and launched at the pair.

"Darkness!"

Riku's form was covered in the same dark energy for a moment before he blasted away the energy bolts. The power faded as quickly as it had appeared. _'Damn, I still can't hold it long enough.'_

"Get back!"

Riku jumped away as Cloud darted past. His sword passed through Sephiroth just as the man disappeared.

"You've gained yourself some interesting allies, Cloud," the man's voice echoed around them. "But you know they will only distract you. You are the only one that can face me."

Silence reigned for several tense moment before Cloud finally relaxed. He rested his cleaver on his back as Riku dismissed his own weapon.

Riku turned to face his ally only to find him walking away. "Cloud!"

"What do you need?"

"King Mickey wanted you back at the Restoration Headquarters," Riku answered as he walked in step with the blond. "We got news about Sora this morning."

"Sora can take care of himself."

"I know that. But the Organization is up to something and Sora is stuck in a coma for a year." Cloud made no reply. "Who is Sephiroth?"

"Not your business."

"He would have skewered you back there, Cloud! It's my business now."

Cloud paused in the middle of the Great Maw. "What he said is true. I'm the only one that can face him."

Riku wasn't going to accept that. "What about Tifa?" Cloud rounded on him. "I saw her the other day. She's looking for you, but apparently you don't want her to find you… Why?"

"She can't help."

"That's not the point!"

"I don't want her to get hurt!"

Riku recoiled back as Cloud resumed walking.

* * *

_Chapter 5 End_


End file.
